The atmosphere in the balcony was pretty decent and romantic. The moonlight shined brightly to the two people, leaning against the railings. The faint sound of music harmonizes the view and the sound. It turned it into a scene in a fantasy. The fact that there's also a firefly in the distance also added to the backdrop of the scenery
Ivana then leaned to Sora's shoulder and she said to him
"You know… I'm hesitating to do something drastic. I want my life to be safe but people would just not leave me alone. It's so tiring"
Sora then put his arm in her shoulder and said to her
"Are you okay? Do you need my help? If it's about people giving you trouble, then I can be of use. I can tell them to leave you alone if you want"
Then, Ivana said to him sleepily as she put her hand on top of the hand in her shoulder
"I wished it's that easy. I can't even sleep peacefully for years because… I'm scared that they will appear when I least expected it"
Sora looked at Ivana concernedly as he stood straight and faced her. Then, he resolutely said
"Lady Arieta. Trust me. I can help you with your problem. Just said the word and I'll prove it to you"
Ivana then also faced him. She said to him with longing in her expression
"Is that so? Can… I trust you?"
Sora smiled as he put his hand in her cheek and caress it softly
"Yes. You can trust me"
Ivana smiled sadly as she held his hand on her cheek. A tear streaks from her eyes as she cries softly. Then, she hugged Sora as she buried her face in his chest. Sora also hugged her tightly as he thought
'It's the first time I felt something like this from a woman. Something different that those gold diggers that only wanted my wealth'
Sora became attached to her as his protective instinct kicked in. He suddenly remembered her words
'So someone wanted to hurt her? Those bastards. I will kill them!'
Ivana felt that Sora was trembling slightly. She also noticed that his body turned stiff. As she got that information, she thought
'My circumstances. Trembling of the body. And abrupt stiffening, all points to the emotion of anger. It seemed that my acting worked. And it even spared me from using my breast or lips as a bargaining chip. It's a win-win"
Ivana smirked as she had decided to alter some of her plans. If it all goes well, she'll kill him. But if not, she will use this chess piece strategically. She was always flexible. Shifting plans whenever something advantageous comes up
And putting counter measures when unexpected variables appeared. She also had other plans with him. She will continue to use her identity as Arieta as a way to experiment with her curse
'He's also a perfect specimen to test my power and maybe Ilaya too can join me. Of course, I will not tell Ilaya about my plan. I desperately need some data about power users so I will threaten her loved ones if she refuses. We can use our powers subtly to find the effects of our curse on a willing subject, rather than forcing unwilling lab rats'
Ivana grinned happily as her hug tightened around Sora. Like a snake constricting a prey. Unbeknownst to her, her eyes glowed red for a moment before vanishing
'I hope there's some interesting results this time. I'm not letting you go until I drained all of your value. My dear Sora'
The wind blows on them as the two people reach their conclusion. One fell in love and the other finalized the plan. Soon, only the sound of the music was the only sound in the balcony
…
After a while, Sora and Ivana were walking down the hallway. Ivana complained of being cold and sleepy and asked Sora if he knew somewhere she could rest. Of course, Sora immediately agreed to let her use his bedroom and they're currently heading there
Ivana looked around the place as she acted like she's curious about the place. Then, they've reached the room as Sora said to Ivana
"You can stay in my room Lady Arieta. While you rest, I'll go back to the hall and socialize with the people there. I'll wake you up when it's time to leave, so take your time resting"
Ivana smiled slightly and said to him
"I've got an idea. Why don't we tour this mansion? I saw a lot of interesting things on our way here, so what do you think? I think it's fun to sneak around the place while others have no idea"
Sora smiled at her childishness and he pat her head
"Okay. I'll do what M'lady wished"
Ivana smiled sweetly as she locked her arm with him and they started touring the hallway of the second floor. Along the way, Ivana asked questions from time to time and Sora answered it to the best of his ability
As they're walking around. The guards started to notice them as they walked towards the place where they were guarding. The two guards stopped them as one of them said
"I'm sorry sirs and madam, but this area is off limits to guests. Please turn around and return to the hall"
Ivana suddenly flinched from the man's cold voice and Sora didn't escape that detail. He said to the guard
"Please don't mind us. I'm just taking my partner to show her some places. We're not going to enter any rooms. So please step aside"
Sora became annoyed at the guard as he walked past them. Only to be blocked by the guards body as he sternly warned
"Sir. Please back off. This place is off limits. We've received an order to detain anyone that will force their way in this area. That includes you sir. So please back off"
Sora became angry as he attempted to confront the man but before he does, Ivana tugged at his coat and she said to him
"It's okay Sora. We can just go back now. I think that they're not going to let you through. Although it's a shame not to see everything, I'm already satisfied"
Sora looked at her teary eyes and thought that the guards scared her. He immediately became enraged. Not only was he denied access, but they also didn't have him face when he's with a lady. His chest constricted from extreme shame and embarrassment
He nearly wanted to punched the man in the face, but held himself back as he couldn't show such violence in front of Ivana. Then, he took a deep breath as he said to the guard
"Call my father"
The guard became confused as he asked
"What?"
Sora glared at the man and said
"I said. Call my father. I'm Sora Takiguchi, heir of the Sora business group and…"
Sora walked in front of the guard as he whispered to him
"My father is one of the eight leaders that was currently in this area. You know what that means… right?"
The guard took a step back as he looked at him in shock. Then, the guard glanced at his colleague. His colleague just made a sign to let them pass and the guard looked at Sora again. Noticing his glare, he just said calmly
"Okay sir. You may pass, but you must not enter the red colored door. Your father may be okay with you interrupting them, but the other leaders, including our boss will not tolerate it. Our heads will roll off if you cause any trouble sir"
Sora smiled and pat his shoulder
"Don't worry. I meant what I said. Just take a look. And no entering"
As they reconciled, Ivana secretly smiled
'As expected, you're really my VIP ticket'